Archaeologists unearth ancient findings in eastern Turkey

Archaeologists on Friday unearthed 5,000-year-old rooms and terracotta pots in Turkey's eastern Van province.

A team of 50 archaeologists and scientists from 10 different universities are currently studying the historical background of the province and working on a tumulus where they had previously found artefacts dating to the Urartian civilisation.

Erkan Konyar, an academic leading the research team, said the archaeological excavation site is of huge importance for the history of Turkey and the civilisation of humankind.

"We have found terracotta pots, houses and building remains of the era," he said, adding, "That was quite a surprise for us because nobody has reached such data in the past 60 years."

Van's history

The findings indicated that Van province had an ancient history dating to 3,500 BC, known as the early Bronze Age, Konyar said.

"The people of the early Bronze Age lived in adobe houses with a size of three square meters," he said, adding that they had livestock and primitive agriculture to survive.

The remains found during the excavations will shed light on the province's history with their hard work, Konyar said.